American Century Companies Inc. Sells 7,641 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has reduced its stake in HCA Healthcare by 23.9%, lowering its holdings to 24,321 shares valued at approximately $8.4 million.
• HCA Healthcare reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $6.84, surpassing analysts’ expectations and showing a 6.4% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, with a yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 12.11%.

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 23.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,321 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,641 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $8,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the company's stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 25,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,772,000 after acquiring an additional 11,338 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 31.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 164,021 shares of the company's stock worth $56,677,000 after purchasing an additional 39,250 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.3% during the first quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 21,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 613,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $212,033,000 after buying an additional 43,320 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $444.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $401.83.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded down $3.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $404.11. 996,401 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,129,223. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $94.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $376.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $356.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%.The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.